Visual health is closely linked to a healthy social life. Periodical screening of vision is very Important to determine the visual disturbances of children of school age for their school success. 'Regular eye exams" are the most important way used through this aim. In this study, all the field researches made by "interns" about visual health between 1991-1999 during their training period in Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health were reviewed. All of the researches were crosssectional epidemiological studies. The aim of the screenings was to determine the prevalence of refractive errors and other visual disturbances and the relation between these disturbances and some characteristics of children. This paper aims to present the results of these studies and to recommend some solutions about promoting the visual health. There is a great difference between the prevalence rates. For example, the prevalence rate is 8.4 % in Etimesgut primary school and 37.6 % in Gazi Anatolian High School. All of the rates are greater than the prevalance rate obtained from the screenings done by the Ministry of Health in 1990. In most cases, parents, teachers and medical staff have important roles in determining whether children's visual disturbances need to be corrected. In accordance with these roles, some recommendations are made for parents, teachers and medical staff.
Keywords: Visual Health, Regular Eye Exams, Child, Prevention
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